Founded by producer and one-time Open:Hand guitarist Beau Burchell and fronted by Anthony Green (formerly of Zolof The Rock 'N' Roll Destroyer), Saosin clearly is of a higher pedigree in comparison to many of SoCal's screamo elite. As of such, the group enter the independent fray already doused with lofty expectations, a fact which they realize and attempt to appease on their debut EP, "Translating The Name"

. This is an album heavily influenced by the emotive highs and lows Thursday ushered into the public's eye, though with a more pronounced emphasis on infectious pop hooks. Alex Rodriguez proves his dexterity behind the drum kit, gracefully transitioning from percussive delicacy to hard-hitting hardcore hemorrhages with nary a hesitation, a precision reflected in Burchell and Justin Shekoski's emo-inflected guitar collisions. Green's passionate vocal exposition invokes thoughts of From Autumn To Ashes or the melodic soliloquies of Coheed And Cambria, giving way to a searing scream that bleeds with emotion. For all of their strengths, Saosin do find themselves settling into the formulaic predictability such a genre tends to be awash with, floating from harmonic sincerity to gut-wrenching metallic tenacity with far too much ease. This prevents the group from ever really making an impression, rather just borrowing and reconstructing pieces of other similar songs in an effort to assimilate to the tragic design flaw which has begun to weigh heavily on the screamo style.

Saosin are competent musicians with the potential to truly impress, but this debut suffers from it's familiar limitations. With the recent influx of like-minded artists, the band unfortunately find themselves mired in a musical style that has already been all too exposed. While they display a considerable understanding of how to write accessible emo/pop songs with an abrasive edge, the group sound disturbingly comfortable in this all too common genre, making "Translating The Name" a solid beginning for a band that will likely make quite a name for themselves once they find their own true voice, rather than simply imitating the current trend.